Nearly 7 year sentence for assault on officer

A plea deal is sending illegal alien Jose Luis Ayala, 21, to prison for almost seven years for trying to run over a Manteca Police officer.

Ayala was arrested on Aug. 25, 2007 after he was involved in an attempted carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon on officer Robert Anderson. The original incident took place in the southwestern section of Manteca where Ayala was attempting to steal or burglarize cars. When an officer located Ayala in a vehicle he was ordered to stop but he continued to drive away at a high rate of speed. Ayala then saw Anderson in the roadway an attempted to run him over with the stolen car. Anderson, fearing for his life, fired several rounds at the suspect, hitting the vehicle. None of the rounds hit Ayala; however it did cause him to swerve away at the last second. Anderson was not injured.

Ayala was arrested by CHP and Dublin Police after a lengthy pursuit into Alameda County. Deputy District Attorney Katherine Mahood indicated that Ayala accepted a plea deal this week of a sentence of 6 years 10 months in the California Department of Corrections. He plead guilty to felony auto theft, felony attempted carjacking, felony evading and felony threats against a police officer. After he completes his sentence he has been ordered deported since he is not a U.S. citizen.